John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
There may have been more violent films released in history, but none that dominated the screen from beginning to end like Wick 3.
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is one of the most entertaining god-awful films to ever hit the big screen. Imagine going to a ballet where the dancers used innovative techniques to literally pummel each other to death as they danced, leaped and swirled across the stage for close to two hours.
This movie reminded me of one of my favorite phrases, “I hate myself for loving you.” Keanu Reeves is back as John Wick, a legendary killer who has been booted out of a international assassin’s organization for killing a member against the team’s rules. He now has a fourteen-million-dollar bounty on his head, and many nasty characters are after him from the moment the film begins.
My apologies, as I’ve just described the entire plot of this film. In a sense, Reeves’ Wick resembles Superman with long, wet hair. His face constantly covered with blood, Wick is repeatedly shot and stabbed. In addition, wait until you see the fights in various museums where Wick is repeatedly thrown through glass cases protecting works of art. Fortunately, the would-be killers are terrible shots even when using machine guns, and you know that Superman can take a licking but his heart will keep on ticking.
Interestingly, what you’ll likely find attracting your interest is a wonderful soundtrack that converts the film into more of a work of art than a traditional movie. That is helped by the appearance of numerous heavily tattooed women in secondary roles. In addition, refusing to use a double, Reeves does all of his stunts as Tom Cruise did in the last Mission Impossible movie.
While the film largely centers on John Wick alone, the movie is helped by smaller performances from Halle Berry, Lawrence Fishburn, Ian McShane and Anjelica Huston. Ms. Berry plays against type as an old friend of Wick’s who becomes involved in a massive fight as they try to escape with their lives. However, it is Mr. McShane who will capture your attention as he once again finds a way to elevate a film with his style, eloquence and dark sense of humor. His role here as Winston, the manager of The Continental Hotel that is usually off limits to violence, reminded me of his legendary performance as Al Swearengen in the magnificent Deadwood series (2004-2006).
Finally, it is clear that a fourth chapter centering on Wick’s attempt to live will hit the screen in the future. As you try to suppress your anxiety, don’t forget to watch the film entitled Deadwood which will be release on HBO on May 31. That series will finally be given a deserving conclusion which it had been unfairly denied.
